Journal box construction for railway cars



July 21, 1964 E. P. SMITH 3,141,709

JOURNAL BOX CONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 30, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 1 mvzm'oa EDWARD PAYSON SMH'H E. P- SMITH JOURNAL BOXCONSTRUCTION FOR RAILWAY CARS Filed Aug. 30, 1962 July 21, 1964 2Sheets-Sheet 2 III //I F\G. G.

3| mvamoa EDWARD PAYSON SMH'H M W United States Patent Ofiice 73,141,709 Patented July 21, 1964 3,141,709 JOURNAL BOX CONSTRUT1ON FORRATLWAY CARS Edward Payson mith, Winnetka, 111., assignor to IllinoisRailway Equipment Co., Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois FiledAug. 30, 1962, Ser. No. 220,431 8 Qlairns. (Cl. 308-40) This inventionrelates, generally, to railway car journals and it has particularrelation to exterior radial bearing supports therefor. It constitutes animprovement over the constructions shown in application Serial No.177,079, filed March 2, 1962, by Theodore A. Sweger, and assigned to theassignee of this application.

Among the objects of this invention are: To provide in a new andimproved manner for mounting journal guides between the inner sides of arailway car journal box and the opposite sides of an axle journaltherein; to support the journal guides on the ends of energy storingmeans, such as a collapsible spring, which functions to hold them inoperative position; to hold the spring in collapsed condition wherebyapplication of it and of the journal guides to the journal box isfacilitated; to release the collapsed spring when it and the journalguides have been inserted in the journal box to permit it to expand andposition the journal guides in operative positions on opposite sides ofthe axle journal and to hold them in such position; to employ a springhaving a series of reverse turn sections of spring Wire; to terminatethe spring wire series of reverse turn sections in loops that surroundthe respective journal guides; to provide integral spaced arms from theloops for engaging opposite vertical sides of wedge guide columns on theside walls of the journal box for the purpose of centering the journalguides; to enclose the reverse turn sections of the spring in acollapsible envelope having a hem along its periphery; to provide adrawstring in the hem of the envelope for collapsing it and holding itand the reverse turns of the spring therein in collapsed condition; andto bring out the ends of the drawstring from the hem intermediate oneside of the envelope.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a collapsible one piece spring wireretainer enclosed in an envelope and having the journal guides at theends, the construction being shown in the expanded condition.

FIG. 1A is a vertical cross sectional view, at an enlarged scale, takengenerally along the line 1A-1A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 2 is a view, in side elevation, of the construction shown in FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a view, partly in end elevation and partly in vertical sectionand looking from left to right of FIG. 6, showing certain details ofconstruction of a journal box in which the present invention isemployed.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view, similar to FIG. "1, but showing the one piecespring wire and the envelope therefor in collapsed condition.

FIG. 5 is a view, in side elevation, of the collapsed construction shownin FIG. 4, showing by broken lines the positions assumed by thecollapsed construction when it is inserted in the bottom of the journalbox and before it is released for expansion to operative position.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view, taken generally along the line 6-6of FIG. 3, the wedge and journal bearing being omitted.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 3 and 6 of the drawings, it will beobserved that the reference character 10 designates, generally, arailway car axle which has an axle journal 11 which is provided with anend collar 12. The longitudinal axis of rotation of the railway car axle10 is indicated at 13. The railway car axle 10 is located in a railwaycar journal box that is indicated, generally,

at 14 and is of conventional construction. It includes a generallyhorizontal top wall 15, side walls 16-16, a concave bottom wall 17 and aconcave end wall 18, the upper side of which forms the lower margin of alid opening 19 (the lid not being shown). At the other end the journalbox 14 has a dust guard well 20 which is formed by vertical walls 21 and22. To the right of the axle journal 11 the railway car axle 10 has ahub portion 23 which projects beyond the vertical walls 21 and 22.

Depending from the end of the top wall 15 adjacent the lid opening 19 isa wedge stop 25 that is provided for holding a flat back wedge 26, FIG.3 in operative position, on top of a fiat back journal bearing 27 whichhas a lining 28 of bearing metal which overlies the upper portion of theaxle journal 11 and through which the weight of the railway car appliedto the journal box 14 is transmitted to the railway car axle 10. Thewedge 26 is held against lateral displacement between wedge guidecolumns 29-29 that are formed integrally with an extend from the innersides of the side walls 16-16.

As pointed out in the copending application above referred to, theconstruction thus far described is arranged to have the journal box 14elevated sufficiently far to permit the wedge 26 to be withdrawn fromunderneath the wedge stop 25. This also permits removal of the journalbearing 27 for replacement, inspection or the like.

It is desirable that relative lateral movement of the axle journal 11with respect to the side walls 16-16 of the journal box 14 be prevented.For this purpose journal guides 31-31 are provided. They may be formedof metal, such as brass either in whole or in part and are provided withbase portions 32-32 which are arranged to bear against the inner sidesof the side walls 16-16 at positions immediately below the wedge guidecolumns 29-29. The journal guides 31-31 are of elongated configurationand have forward portions 33-33 that have faces 34-34 which arejuxtaposed to diametrically opposite sides 35-35 of the axle journal 11.

Intermediate the base and forward portions 32-32 and 33-33 of thejournal guides 31-31 are grooves 36-36 which are provided for receivingloops 37-37 of relatively heavy spring wire. It will be noted that theloops 37-37 are formed integrally at the ends of a collapsible one piecespring wire retainer that is indicated, generally, at 38 in several ofthe figures of the drawings. The extreme ends of the spring wire areindicated at 39-39 and they extend laterally from the loops 37-37 as dorelatively short loops 40-40. The ends 39-39 and the loops 40-40 areinclined slightly for the purpose of bearing against the inner sides ofthe concave bottom wall 17 and of the side walls 16-16 when the assemblyis applied to the journal box 14 as described hereinafter. The ends39-39 and loops 40-41) are spaced apart to overlie opposite verticalsides 41-41 of the wedge guide columns 29-29. Between the loops 37-37the spring wire retainer 38 is in the form of a series of reverse turnsections 43 the number of which can vary depending upon the particularconditions that are to be met and the forces that are to be exerted.They constitute energy storage means which energy can be released toposition the journal guides 31-31 in their operative positions shown inFIG. 3. At the ends of the wire retainer 38 the reverse turn sections 43terminate in parallel end sections 44-44 which are also parallel to theloops 37-37 and the journal guides 31-31 carried thereby.

In order to store energy in the spring wire retainer 38 and hold thereverse turn sections 43 in the collapsed condition with energy storedtherein, an envelope shown, generally, at 45 is provided. The envelope45 is of rectangular configuration and preferably is formed of suitablehigh strength flexible plastic material such as polyethylene or 3 otherheat sealing plastic. As shown in FIG. 1A the envelope 45 is formed byan upper layer 46 and a lower layer 47 of plastic material and here itis shown as overlying one of the return bends of the spring wireretainer 38 with the adjacent surfaces joined at 4-8 by a suitable heatsealing operation. The layers 46 and 47 are joined along theirperipheries at 49 by a similar heat sealing operation in such manner asto provide a hem 54 in which a drawstring 51 is located. If desired, thedrawstring can be inserted along the periphery or" the upper and lowerlayers 46 and 47 after they have been joined at 48 by the heat sealingprocess. Subsequently the extreme outer edges of the upper and lowerlayers 46 and 47 are joined at 49 to enclose the drawstring 51 in thehem 50 thus formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the ends 52-52 of the drawstring 51 extendfrom the hem Stl intermediate one of the long sides of the envelope 45.

When the spring wire retainer is in the collapsed condition as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5, the envelope 45 is ruffled as indicated at 54 in FIG. 5.This is accomplished by pulling the ends 52-52 of the drawstring 51outwardly through the one side of the envelope 45 while the spring wireretainer 38 is held in collapsed condition. The ends 52-52 of thedrawstring 51 then are tied as indicated at 55 to hold the assembly inthe collapsed condition with energy stored in the reverse turn sections43 of the spring wire retainer 33.

When the assembly is in the collapsed condition, as shown in FIGS. 4 and5, it can be inserted readily through v the lid opening 19 of thejournal box 14 and applied to the concave bottom wall 17 in the positionas indicated by broken lines in FIG. 5. Then the knot at 55 is untied.This releases the envelope 45 and permits the reverse turn sections 43of the spring wire retainer 38 to expand and to move the journal guides3ll-31 upwardly to their operative positions underneath the wedge guidecolumns 229 with the ends 39-39 and loops iii-40 guided on theiropposite sides. The journal guides 31-31 can be removed from the journalbox 14 by reversing the foregoing steps.

For illustrative purposes the journal box 14 has been shown inconjunction with a fiat back wedge 26 and a fiat back journal bearing27. It will be understood that the present invention can be employedwith other types of journal boxes having other wedge and bearingconstructions. If desired the construction can be such as to locate thejournal guides 3131 outwardly of the wedge guide columns 25-429. Theusual waste (not shown) as can be applied in conventional manner in thelower part of the journal box 14 in overlying relation to the envelope43 4 and the spring wire retainer in expanded condition on the cancavebottom wall 17.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a railway car journal box construction, said journal box havingspaced vertical side walls with an axle journal in spaced relationtherebetween, top and bottom walls interconnecting said side walls aboveand below said axle journal, a journal bearing overlying said axlejournal, and a wedge interposed between said top wall and said journalbearing; the improvement which comprises: a journal guide interposedbetween each side wall and the diametrically opposite sides of said axlejournal, endwise collapsible spring means supporting each journal guidein operative position in said journal box, means for holding said springmeans in collapsed condition below said axle journal with said journalguides along said bottom Wall to facilitate application of said journalguides in said journal box, and means for releasing said holding meanswhereupon said spring means expands along said bottom wall and movessaid journal guides therealong to their operative positions.

2. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the spring means isin the form of a series of reverse turn sections of spring wire.

3. The invention, as set forth in claim 2, wherein the holding means isa collapsible envelope enclosing the spring means.

4. The invention, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the envelope has ahem along its periphery, and a drawstring in said hem is arranged andadapted to releasably hold the spring means in collapsed condition.

5. The invention, as set forth in claim 4, wherein the ends of thedrawstring emerge from the hem intermediate one side of the envelope.

6. The invention, as set forth in claim 2, wherein the end sections ofthe spring wire terminate in loops surrounding the respective journalguides.

7. The invention, as set forth in claim 6, wherein each side wall of thejournal box has a wedge guide column, and each loop has a pair ofoutstanding spaced arms overlying opposite vertical sides of therespective wedge guide column.

8. The invention, as set forth in claim 7, wherein one arm of each pairof arms is the extreme end portion of the spring Wire and the other armis an intermediate looped portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,957,733 Hare Oct. 25, 1960

1. IN A RAILWAY CAR JOURNAL BOX CONSTRUCTION, SAID JOURNAL BOX HAVINGSPACED VERTICAL SIDE WALLS WITH AN AXLE JOURNAL IN SPACED RELATIONTHEREBETWEEN, TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS INTERCONNECTING SAID SIDE WALLS ABOVEAND BELOW SAID AXLE JOURNAL, A JOURNAL BEARING OVERLYING SAID AXLEJOURNAL, AND A WEDGE INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID TOP WALL AND SAID JOURNALBEARING; THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES: A JOURNAL GUIDE INTERPOSEDBETWEEN EACH SIDE WALL AND THE DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID AXLEJOURNAL, ENDWISE COLLAPSIBLE SPRING MEANS SUPPORTING EACH JOURNAL GUIDEIN OPERATIVE POSITION IN SAID JOURNAL BOX, MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID SPRINGMEANS IN COLLAPSED CONDITION BELOW SAID AXLE JOURNAL WITH SAID JOURNALGUIDES ALONG SAID JOURNAL FACILITATE APPLICATION OF SAID JOURNAL GUIDESIN SAID JOURNAL BOX, AND MEANS FOR RELEASING SAID HOLDING MEANSWHEREUPON SAID SPRING MEANS EXPANDS ALONG SAID BOTTOM WALL AND MOVESSAID JOURNAL GUIDES THEREALONG TO THEIR OPERATIVE POSITIONS.